Refrigerator car construction



Nov. 3, w42. G. G. GILPIN 2,300,665

REFRIGERATOR GAR coNsTRUcTIoN v Filed Feb. 17, 1940 6 Sheets-Sheet l L0 l n JVW Inventor: Garth 6. Gilpin Amv.3,1942. G. G. @ILHN 2,300,665

REFRIGERATOR GAR CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 17, 1940 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 asm F'zl'gr Inventor:

' arm G. Gil in Nqv. 3,- 1942.

G. G. GILPIN REFRIGERATOR CAR CONSTRUCTION Filed F65. 17, 1940 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 o4- Kn m14.

Inl/euhm Garth .z'lpz'n Hfz'ome Nv. 3, 1942. G, G- GlLPiN: 2,300,665

REFRIGERATOR CAR 'CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 17, 1940 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Inveni'ar: ari/L .ilpin Nav. 3, 1942. G. G. GILPIN REFRIGERATOR CAR CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 17, 1940 e sheets-sheet e Inventar.-

Patented Nov. 3, 19424 nnrmoamron can CONSTRUCTION Garth G. Gilpin, Riverside, Ill., assigner to Standard Railway Equipment Manufacturing Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Application February 17, 1940, Serial No. 319,404

(Cl. S-404) 8 Claims.

The invention relates to railway rolling stock and more particularly to so-called "refrigerator cars which are used to transport perishable commodities, such as vegetables, fruits, berries, frozen foods and fish. Such commodities must be maintained at a substantially even temperature to avoid decay. Heat or refrigeration is applied to the commodity while in transit depending upon the weather. Certain commodities (such as potatoes and oranges) generate heat and gases which must be removed by ventilation. A railway car, therefore, to haul perishable commodities must be arranged to cool, heat or ventilate the commodity while in the car. This applies, of course, if the car is running or standing still.

Various fruits, such as oranges, lemons and grapefruit from California and Florida, apples from Washington and Oregon, and various vegetables from such States as California, Colorado, Illinois and Georgia are loaded into the i'efrigerator cars and shipped; i. e., the cars actually start moving with destination unknown and without any consignee. To facilitate selling the commodity while enroute, grades for quality have been established. Units for volume have also been established by adoption of a standard size box for each fruit and the size of th'e fruit is designated by the number of that fruit in the box (winch is stencilled on each box); the number of such boxes which can be loaded in a standard size refrigerator car is a unit. To be more specic, the inside dimensions of a conventional end bunker refrigerator car are approximately 40 feet long, 8' 3- wide and 7 feet high, and an ice bunker is positioned at each end of the car so that the loading space between the bunkers is about 33 feet. Such' a car will hold and refrigerate v462 boxes of oranges or 420 boxes of lemons from California and such number of boxes constitutes a unit of the specific fruit of a known grade and size.

When the owner (usually through a cooperative association) sells his fruit, the shipment is diverted while enroute to the purchaser. It requires approximately seven days to transport fruit from California to Chicago; ten days to New York and twelve days to Boston; this system allows the owner to take advantage of changing market conditions. If the commodity is not sold enroute it is consigned to one of the several perishable commodity auction markets in ther veloped by my assignee which is described and claimed in Bonsall Patent No. 2,136,999 of November 15, 1938, wherein the refrigerant containnates the necessity of the end ice bunkers, thus i increasing the available lading space from 33 to 40 feet without increasing the train length or overall length of the car. Furthermore, in the conventional end bunker car, hereinbefore described, it is usually necessary to leave at least two feet between the top of the lading and the ceiling of the car for the warmed air to return to the end bunkers, whereas in Bonsalls top bunker car the lading can be loaded up to the ceiling, thus materially increasing the volume and weight of the lading without decreasing the efficiency of the refrigeration of the lading (in fact, tests show better refrigeration). Again to be specific: The conventional forty foot end bunker car holds 462 boxes oforanges (which is a unit for that particular fruit), whereas a Bonsall top bunker car was actually loaded and shipped with 840 boxes of oranges, or one and eight-tenths units.

'I'he sizes and weights of the boxes are commer' Another object is to provide a partition between the unit and theremainder which may be removed Iwhen not wanted; for instance, when more than a unit load is consigned to an auc'- tion market.

Another object is to provide an insulated partition so that the commodities on opposite sides of the partition may be maintained at different temperatures.

A new type of refrigerator car has been de# Another object is to provide a wall or parti- This is called lateral or non which is movable longitudinally of the car to divide the lading space of the car into equal or unequal sizes, as conditions may require, and

,to provide means to fasten said wall or partition in any of such positions.

Another object .is to provide a refrigerator car with a partition so as to divide the car into a pair of compartments and to provide access to each compartment through doorways positioned at the corners of the car or somewhat distant from the corners but relatively remote from the center of the car. The advantages of such an arrangement are that the compartments can be loaded simultaneously from either the same side of the car or from opposite sides; ineither case, the men loading one compartment may work free from interference from the men loading the opposite compartment. y

The modern steel sheathed refrigerator car ha substantially superseded the wood sheathed car wherein the framework of the car, either wood or steel, was comprised of trusses embedded within the walls. 1n the steel sheathed car, the walls function somewhat as girders and the thrusts upon the end walls are transferred to the sid''* walls, not only to the side plate and side sill, but also distributed over the sheathing between the plate and sill. A doorway in a side wall near a corner of the car inherently prevents transfer of end wall thrusts to the side sheathing. It is an object 'of my invention to overcome this deciency by providing means by which the door or doors transmit end wall thrusts to the side sheathing.

Commodities hauled in refrigerator cars usually must be carefully handled. Fruits, for example,

bruise easily and must be securely braced when inthecar, working from the ends of the car towardthe center. When the car is thus filled except for a relatively small space at the doorways, a squeezer is inserted in this space and the crates are pushed toward the end walls of the car. In other words, the crates in each end of the car serve as a backing for the squeezer" to compress the crates in the opposite end. Finally, either temporary bulkheads are installed to retain the crates in this position or the enlarged space thus created is filled with additional crates of fruit. It is another object of my invention to position each doorway with one edge thereof substantially ush with the end wall lining, the car being provided with a partition as hereinabove described. The advantages of such an arrangement are two-fold; first, the squeezer may be inserted between the crates and the end wall of the car, thereby providing a more secure backing and second, fewer temporary bulkheads are required to brace the lading.

The objects and advantages hereinabove pointed out of a refrigerator car having doors in the side walls adjacent the corners of the car apply either to the conventional end bunker car or to the hereinabove described overhead bunker car. It is pointed out, however, that in the end bunker car, the refrigerating medium is at the-ends of the car and that the regions of the car remote from said medium are often relatively warm because the refrigerated air does not flow the required distance. When the partition is positioned nearer one end than the other, certain parts of the larger compartment are more remote from the refrigerating source than usual and the temperature is therefore less uniform. In the case of the top bunker car, however, the partition may be placed in any position along the length of the car and the refrigeration efficiency remains unimpalred because the refrigerated air is supplied from the sides. The length of a compartment, therefore, has no effect whatsoever upon the temperatures within the compartment.

Another object of my invention deals with' the provision of a partition in a refrigerator car having a refrigerant bunker near each end wall. By disposing the partition above the floor racks and providing a foraminous upper portion, I provide means by which one of the compartments, if larger than the other compartment, may be refrigerated by cold air from the bunker adjacent the smaller compartment.

Another object of my invention is to position the doorways adjacent the refrigerant bunkers so that the cold air flowing from the bunkers compensates for the infiltration of warm air through the door seals. The air within the car has its lowest temperature immediately after leaving the bunkers and is therefore well adapted to prevent the undesirable conditions which result from heat leakage at the doorways.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the following detailed description by referring to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal elevational section through a refrigerator car embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan section of the car taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3-is a view analogous to a part of Fig. 2 showing a modified form of corner construction.

Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken on lines 4--4 of Fig. 1. 1

Fig. 5 is a partial plan section showing a modified construction.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing another modied construction. The section is on line 6-6 of Fig. 7.

Fig. 10 is a plan section on line Ill-i0 of Fig. 9.

Fig. 11 shows a modified form of partition.

Fig. vl2 is a plan section of another modified construction.

Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive show my invention particularly adapted to 'an overhead bunker refrig erator car. The general parts of the refrigerator car shown in such figures are insulated roof I;

, end walls 2; side walls 3; floor 4; hatches 5; re-

frigerant containers 6; side wall nues 1; foraminous floor rack 8 and space 9 between rack 8 and floor l. A refrigerant container 6 is positioned directly below the roof 2 and adjacent a side wall 3. A drip pan I2 is provided below the container 6 and a partition I4 is disposed in an upstanding position at the edge of the drip pan I2. The drip pan I2 and partition I4 cooperate with the roof 2 and side wall 3 to form an enclosing structure Il around the container 6, an air inlet opening l5 being provided by spacing thepartition,

I4 from the roof 2. An air discharge opening I1 which leads to a flue 1 is formed by spacing the drip pan I2 from the wall 3. Cars of this type commonly have a row of refrigerant containers 6 near each side wall 3 and spaced apart at the center of the car. The partitions I4 are also spaced apart to form a duct I6 which communicates between the lading chamber I8 and openings I5.

Air circulation is as follows: Air in the lading chamber I8 is warmed by contact with the lading and rises to enter the enclosing structures through the duct I6 and air inlet openings I5. The air is cooled by contact with the refrigerant containers 6 and falls by reason of its greater density through the discharge openings I'I and iiues 1 to the space 9 whence it rises through the4 rack 8 to the lading chamber I8.

The end walls 2 and corner posts of the structures shown herein may be formed with corrugations as disclosed in Patent No. 2,185,168 issued to Jumper et al. on December 26,1939. The refrigerant containers 6 may be supported as shown in Figs. 10 and 11 orco-pending applicationby C. D. Bonsall, Serial No. 286,138 led July 24, 1939.

The refrigerator car is provided with a partition which extends substantially between the side walls and substantially between the upper and lower boundaries of the lading chamber |8 so as to divide said chamber into a pair of cornpartments 26. The partition 25 may be xed in the desired position within the car as shown in Fig. 5 or may be removable or movable to any ,one of a plurality of positions within the car as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4. The partition may be an uninsulated partition 28, as shown in Fig. 5,

or an insulated partition 29, as shown in Figs. 1,

4| to the flange 42 of the sheathing 35. The' sheathing may have corrugations as hereinabove .pointed out. A doorpost 44, preferably wood, isrigidly secured to the corner post 31. Another doorpost 46, disposed in spaced relation to the doorpost 44, is secured to and forms a part of the side wall 3 in the conventional manner. The closure for the doorway 3| may be a single door 41 hinged (49) to the corner post 31 or doorpost 44, a single door hinged to the opposite doorpost 46 or double doors hinged to both doorposts as hereinafter pointed out.

In the modification shown in Fig. 3, the corner post 54 comprises the usual angularly disposed arms 56, 51 and, in addition, the inwardly directed flange 59 substantially parallel with and in spaced relation to the arm 51. The flange 59 may be connected to the* arm 51 by suitable ties or braces. A wood door-post 6| is secured to the corner post 54, preferably to the flange 59; the other doorpost 62 is secured to and forms a part of the side Wall 3 of the car and is disposed in spaced relation to the doorpost 6|. The door 64 may be hinged to the doorpost 62 so as to swing to a fiatwise relation with the side wall 3 instead of protruding beyond the end of the car.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, ilues I are associated with the side walls 3 of the car to conduct cold air fromthe refrigerant enclosures to the space 9 under the floor rack. In order to supply a uniform amount of cold air to the interior of the car and to compensate for heat leakage through the door seals, flues 61 arecommonly, but not always, provided in the doors 41, 64 for flow of cold air. .To provide additional compensation for leakage through the door seals,

flues 6.8 may also be provided in the -end walls -A 2, which fiues function in a manner similar to the side wall iiues 1 and door ilues 61. (See Fig. 3.)

Thepartitlon 25 may be of any construction adapted -to retain the lading during service movements of the car. In Figs. 1,'2 and 4, the partition 29 comprises a pair of spaced apart metallic plates 10 secured in spaced apart relation by the upper and lower lframe members 12, 13. The plates 10 are preferably formed with vertically extending corrugations 15 and insulation 16 is' provided between the plates 19.

the plates 10 to form a smooth surface. Suitable means are provided by which the partition 29 may be moved lengthwise of the car and also for securing the partition in one of a plurality of positions. In the drawings, the means shown comprises rollers 19, mounted'upon the partition 29 at the upper and lower corners thereof. The upper rollers 19 engage tracks 82 mounted upon the upper parts of thevside walls 3 and the lower rollers 80 engage the tracks 83 mounted in the lower part of the car. The partition may be secured in the desired position by any suitable means, such as the clips and bolts 85 adapted to engage the upper tracks 82.

In the modification shown in Fig. 5, the lading chamber I8 is divided into compartments 26 by the partition 28. The partition 28 is comprised of a plurality of spaced apart columns having facing 9| secured thereto, preferably on both sides thereof. The partition 28, is shown secured to the side posts 93 by the bolts 94 although it is apparent that the partition could be movable as shown in Fig. 1 and equally apparent that the insulated partition 29 shown in Fig. 1 could be mounted in a fixed position as shown in Fig. 5. Access to each compartment 26 is provided by the doorways 96 positioned a substantial distance (91) from the end walls 2 so that deflections of the end wall 2 and corner posts 31 do not affect the tting of the doors 99 in the doorways 99. It is intended that, although the distance 91 is substantial, the doorways 96 in the same side of ,the car are spaced apart a suilicient distance to provide a'lar'ge range of sizes of compartments 26.

In the conventional type of refrigerator car having the doorways at the center of the car, a part ofthe thrust upon the end walls is transmitted to the side sheathing of the car. For reasons hereinabove pointed out, I found it desirable to position doorways in the side walls near the corners of the car. Suchan arrangement destroys, to a certain extent, the connection between the side Wall and end wall; the construction shwn in Figs. 6 to 8 overcomes this diiliculty` In Figs. 6 to 8, the doorpost 44 is secured to the corner post 31 and the doorpost 46 is disposed in spaced relation to the doorpost 44, as described in reference to Fig. 2. A pair of doors |04, are hinged to the doorposts 44, 46 respectively. On the face of each door |04, |05 is secured a rod |01 which, in the form shown, are inwardly facing channel members secured to the doors by lateral flanges |08. The rods |01 are mounted sheathing 18, preferably wood, is secured to the outer sides of upon the doors |04, remote from the hinges ||0 and have their upper (I Ill) and lower (i |3) parts projecting above and below the door respectively. Spaced apart brackets ||4 are secured to the side wail 3 above and below the doorway, parts of the brackets ||4 preferablybeing secured to the side plate ||6 and side sill I1. The

brackets ||4 are arranged to form pockets ||9 in which the upper and lower parts ||3 of the rods |01 iit when the doors |04, |05 are closed. When the end wall 2 receives a thrust, the'thrust is carried through the hinges |2| to the door |04 and by the door |04 to the rod |01 associated therewith. The relatively small part of' sidewall 3 (or side plate ||6 or side sill H1) between the pockets ||9 transmits the thrust to the rod |01a associated with the door |05. 'Ihe door |05 and hinges |22 transfer the thrust to the side wall 3 where it is distributed in the conventional man--v ner.

It is to be understood that the interlocking means shown in Figs. 6-8 is not limited to an ar rangement wherein two doors are used to close the door opening. The arrangement may be equally wel] adapted toa single door, such as is shown in Fig. 2.

Figs. 9 {and 10 show my invention adapted to a refrigerator car having a refrigerant bunker adjacent each end wall |3|. The bunker |30 extends substantially between the roof |33 and floor |34 ofthe car. A bulkhead |36 forms one wall of the bunker |30 and separates the bunker |30 from the lading chamber |31. The bunker |30 usually comprises grates; |39 for supporting the refrigerant and the walls |40, often foraminous, which form the passages |42 for air iiow. Air within the bunker |30, being cooled by contact with the refrigerant, descends by reason of its greater density to ow through the opening |43 below the bulkhead |36 and into the space |45 below the floor rack |46. Thecold air'then-`- permeates upwardly through the lading chamber |31, thereby refrigerating the lading, and finally returns through the opening |49 above the bulkhead |36 to the bunker |30, from where the cycle is repeated.

The lading chamber |31 is` divided into a pair of compartments |49 by a partition |5| which may be insulated or uninsulated, fixed or movableas hereinabove described. In Figs. 10 and 11, the partition |5| is shown movable by the means shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4 although any other suitable means may be used.

Access to' each compartment |49 is provided by a doorway |55 in each side wail |56, The doorways |55 may be positioned in any convenient location, but it is pointed out that they should be spaced apart a sufficient distance to provide a reasonable variation in the relative sizes of the compartments |49. In the drawings, the doorways |49 are shown with one edge |50 thereof substantially flush with the bulkhead |36. Advantages of this arrangement are two-fold: (l) Maximum range is provided for movement of the partition |5|; and (2) the heat leakage through the door seals is compensated for to a certain extent by the cold air flowing from the bunker |30. In the conventional car having the doorways at the center and the refrigerant bunkers at the ends of the car, the interior of the car is warmest at the center, due partly to the great distance from the source of refrigerant and partly to the heat leakage through the door seals. The air flowing from the bunker has the lowest temperature of any air in the car and by '75 positioningl the doorways |55 adjacent the bunkers |30, I take advantage of this low temperature to be deficientin refrigeration because of the remoteness of certain parts thereof from the refrigerant source. The use of the partition |65 permits the compartments |49 to be refrigerated substantially free of interference by a partition. It is pointed out that the partition |65 is positioned entirely above the oor rack |46, thereby permitting flow of air under the rack from either bunker |30 into the compartment |49 at the opposite end of the car. The upper partl |96 of the partition is foraminous to provide for flow of warm air from one compartment through the other compartment to the bunker adjacent the second mentioned compartment. Therefore, either compartment |49 is likely to be partly refrigerated by the bunker |30 at the opposite end of the car.-

Fig. l2 shows a modification in which a refrigerant bunker |10 is positioned intermediate the.,

end walls |1|, preferably near the center of the car. Two lading compartments |13 are provided, one on each side of the bunker |10. The bunker |10 is substantially similar to the bunker |30 of Fig, 10, a bulkhead |14 being provided on each side thereof. Access to the compartments |13 is provided either by doorways |16 positioned adjacent the end walls 1|, with the advantages hereinabove pointed out, or by doorways |19 positioned adjacent the bulkheads |14.. Doorways |18 positioned in the latter position are advantm geous in the respect pointed out in reference to Figs. 9 and 10.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the preferred form of the invention, though it is to beunderstood that the invention is not limited to i the exact details of construction shown and described, as it is obvious that various modifications thereof, within the scope of the claims, will occur to persons skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. In a refrigerator car having a side wall and an end wall, said side wall having spaced apart door posts having a doorway therebetween, said end wall being secured to one of said door posts to form a corner post of the car, a door attached to said last mentioned post and adapted to form a closure for said doorway, and means to transmit longitudinally outward end wall thrust to the portion of the side wall adjacent said doorway comprising operatively engaged members carried by said door and side wall respectively.

2. In a refrigerator car having a side wall and an end wall, said side wall having spaced apart door posts having a. doorway therebetween, a corner post having said end wall secured thereto, one of said door posts being rigidly secured to said corner post, a door attached to said last mentioned door post and adapted to form a closure for said doorway, and means to transmit longitudinally outward end wall thrust to the portion of the side wall adjacent said doorway an end wall, said sidewall having spaced apart door posts having a doorway therebetween, said end wall being secured to one of said door posts to form a corner post of the car; a door. adapted to form a closure for said doorway, and means to transmit longitudinally outward end wall thrust to the portion pf the side wall adjacent said doorway comprising hinge means mounting said door upon saidlcorner post and members carried by said dooa'nd said side wall respectively which engage when the door is closed to prevent relative movement between said door and said side wall in; the plane ofthe side wall.

4. In a refrigerator car having a side wall and an end wall, said side-wall having spaced apart door posts having a :doorway therebetween, said end wall being secured to one of said door posts to form a corner post ofthe car, a. door adapted to form a closure for said doorway. and means to transmit end wall'thrust to the portion of the side wall adjacent' said doorway comprising hinge means mounting said door upon said corner post, and interlocking means to prevent coplanar relative movement between said door and said side wall, said interlocking means comprising vertical yrods mounted upon and extending beyond said doors sind adaptedto seatinroutwardly opening pockets on the side wall.

5. In a refrigerator:v car having spaced apart side walls and spaced apart endiwalls which enclose a lading chamber. a bulkhead in spaced re- .lationto each of saidend walls to provide' refrigerant chambers zgtherebetween, refrigerating means in said refrigerant chambersi a partition intermediate said bulkheads which divides said lading chamber into a pair of lading being tan heads.

6. In a refrigerator car ving spaced apart side and spaced apart end walls, a refrigerant bunker extending substantially between said side walls intermediate said end walls to provide a l compartment'on each side thereof. bulkheads -A between saidbunker and said lading coment, and a doorway lea to eachv of said compartments having.- an edge thereof substantially nush with one of said bullsheads 7. In a railway car having spaced apart corner I ,endv wall being secured to one of d door posts to form a corner post, of the car, a pair or doors adapted to form a closure for said doorway, and means to tt longitu outward end wall thrust to the portion oi the side wall ad- `ascent said doorway comp hinge means mounting said doors upon said comer post and the opposite door post, respectively, and members carried by said doors respectively, which engage to prevent coplanar relative movement between said doors.

Gan'rn d. GILPIN. 

